-- A delegation from Vietnam’s Academy of Social Sciences led by Nguyen Xuan Thang, the Academy’s President, is visiting China. Cooperation in social sciences between the two countries is an important part of Vietnam and China’s strategic partnership and needs to be strengthened in the future, said the meeting between Thang and Chen Huiyuan, President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Society:

-- Le Van Chien, director of Vung Tau port authorities, said salvage force has recovered 21 containers of the sunken Truong Hai Star School which collided with the Thai-flagged Krairatch Dignity in Ba Ria-Vung Tau waters. Initial damage has been estimated to amount to hundreds of billions for 64 cars produced by Truong Hai Group inside the containers.

-- A 3-year-old female patient in the Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province has been reported to die of hand-foot-mouth disease, according to the municipal Health Department. She was hospitalized to HCMC Children's Hospital No.1 on Saturday and died an hour later.

Business:

-- Nguyen Van Phung, Deputy Director for Tax Policy Department under the Ministry of Finance has confirmed foreign corporations, such as Google and Facebook, though not present in Vietnam, will have to pay taxes, according to a recent workshop in cross-border electronic trading held by the Department of E-commerce and Information Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

-- The State Bank of Vietnam governor Nguyen Van Binh has decided to lower the ceiling interest rates for deposits in Vietnam dong to 12 percent a year, down 1 percent compared to last month.